Braves,
There is a lot of important information in this email
regarding registration for the meet next week, which is somewhat complicated so
please read the instructions carefully and let me know if you have any
questions at all. Look at the registration process as soon as possible so if
you run into any trouble you can ask me about it before the registration
deadline.
Yesterday at the Olympic oval was a huge success (results
can be found at http://utahdistancechallenge.blogspot.com/
except they omitted Laurie’s 11:16 and Trish’s 11:49 3200m 1-2 finish).
We had around 80 of you there competing in 115 races, give or take. That is far
and away a new record for Bountiful High, and I hope we continue to grow and
get better. I’ve said many times that we find strength in numbers, and all of
our experiences are better because of each one of you.
There were a ton of highlights from the meet. So many of our
runners had new PRs, (personal records, PB = personal best, SB = seasonal
best), which is exactly what we are working for every day, just keep getting
better. Particularly among our freshman and sophomore milers, there were some
huge improvements from last year, so much so that some of them were honestly
shocked they could run that fast. Caitlin, of course, was not surprised by the
times, knowing full well what you are capable of. A difficult aspect of
coaching is getting our athletes to believe what we already know. I hope you
all learn to believe in yourselves a little bit more. Believing you can reach
new heights is crucial to being your best. Believe in yourself, trust your
training, and compete. Don’t worry about the competition, or where you line up,
or anything else outside of your control. Just believe and run hard.
The meet was littered with great performances from each of
you, with huge PRs in the mile, 800, and 400. A few of our freshman, Sarah and
Keaton, ran some pretty great 400 times (63 and 55), and Sarah followed that up
with a 2:37 800, which was pretty awesome. Two other runners who really stood
out to me were Bodie and Keri, both of whom have been very dedicated this
season and had some strong times, I remember yelling for Keri to pass someone
and she immediately turned on the burners and went right around them, on the
turn. I love that kind of fire. Of the 4 girls events yesterday, Laurie won two
of them. Jace defended his win last year with yet another meet record in the
400. Two years ago Laurie ran the 1600m at this meet in 5:40. Yesterday, in the
3200m, she ran the first mile in 5:39, and the second in 5:36. That is
incredible. She has worked incredibly hard over the years. To say she must be a
naturally talented runner would be an insult to the amount of work and miles
she has put in over the years. Is she talented? Of course, but her hard work is
what makes her great.
This week we compete at the BYU invite, which has events on
Friday and Saturday. Field events and the 3200m are on Friday, and everything
else is on Saturday. I have included the links to go on and register, the meet
information, and the map to the meet at the end of this email. In the past,
this meet has lasted into the evening hours. At the meet info link you can see
at what time each event was competed in years past. I’m guessing it will end
around 5 (it was 4 pm last year with an hour earlier start) but it may go
later.
Indoor track meets can be long affairs due to the huge
popularity around the state, and the limited track space. We encourage you to
make the meet fun between your races by supporting your teammates in their
races, and bringing things to pass the time like homework or games. These meets
are way fun, in my opinion, and I thought that as an athlete years ago, and now
as a coach.
Because indoor track is a club sport (outdoor track is a
school sport) each individual will have to sign themselves up. Before you sign
up, talk to your event coach (either through email or at practice on Monday)
about what events you should be doing. Coach Caitlin can be reached at cpjacobson19@gmail.com. Registration
closes on Thursday (actually Friday morning at 8 AM, but who wants to stress
about it in the morning?), but don’t procrastinate or you may end up like a few
kids last year who kept procrastinating then missed it all together.
Lastly, BYU’s indoor track is 321.5m around. At the end of
the meet they do a 4x1 lap instead of a 4x400 for simplicity. We hope to have
as many of you as possible run the 4x1 lap at the end of the meet. Last year we
had 9 Bountiful teams compete, which was the most from any school, and this
year we would like even more. The relay at the end is one of the most fun parts
of the meet, and it is a fun and great opportunity for sprinters and distance
runners to get better and race together.
DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THE RELAY ONLINE. We will sign up the
relays and pay for them. EMAIL ME IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN A RELAY. I ask you
to email me so I can get a count of how many teams I need to register and pay
for. Again, we want to have an awesome group there this next weekend competing
and getting better.
If you have any questions about the meet, don’t hesitate to
ask.
Coach Jacobson
Registration: https://www.runnercard.com/e/runner.Main?meet=1002223
Click on “register” at the top of the page.
Click on “individual sign up” on the left half of the page
Do not create a runnercard account. You are doing something wrong if you make
one.
Don’t sign up for relays, we will take care of that.
